Whenever you get a group of believers together it is a matter of time before the principles of worship are brought up, even if not by name, to decide how a service is to be run. Generally speaking there has been two stances on this subject, the Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) and the Normative Principle of Worship (NPW). I would suggest, however, that neither is consistent in their entirety and both fall short in some areas.
The Normative Principle of Worship is the idea that anything and everything is okay to do in the name of doing it as worship to Elohim. Now, the principle statement is that anything is okay so long as scripture does not forbid it, however in practice this is not the case. We see examples of this being rejected in practice within churches and singular worship more commonly than not, and those examples will show when we get into biblical restrictions. This principle branches beyond the corporate worship to accept that worship is something we do in our day to day lives as we seek to follow the Ruach.
On the other end of the spectrum we have the Regulative Principle of Worship. This would theorize that worship is contained within the corporate congregation and that we can not do anything not listed within scripture explicitly as an act of worship. However, even some things listed within scripture are seen as a violation of the RPW which are explicitly listed as worship, such as observance of the Holy Days commanded by God to his people; making the claim of explicitly listing worshipful acts inconsistent and branches it out from corporate worship.
So first let's look at just what worship is, how scripture defines it. First we must recognize that scripture draws a very broad stance on this subject. 1 Corinthians 10:21 says Well, whatever you do, whether it's eating or drinking or anything else, do it all so as to bring glory to God. Colossians 3:14-17 says, Above all these, clothe yourself with love, which binds everything together perfectly; and let the shalom which comes from the Messiah be your heart's decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of the single Body. And be thankful - let the Word of the Messiah, in all its richness, live in you, as you teach and counsel each other in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude to God in your hearts. That is, everything you do or say, do in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Thus we can recognize that every action we do is to be an act of worship to glorify Elohim. These verses not only make such claims as 'everything you do or say' and '... or anything else' but they also give specific examples of worship we do in our daily lives. What we eat and drink, yes the dietary commands are a very act of worship, singing songs and being thankful are all ways we can worship God. Indeed even something as 'small' as how we dress is an act of worship.
More than a broad brush we must remember the very heart of worship. Such as John 4:23 and 24 say, But the time is coming - indeed, it's here now - when the true worshippers will worship the Father spiritually and truly, for these are the kind of people the Father wants worshipping him. God is spirit; and worshippers must worship him spiritually and truly. Or what is said in Isaiah 29:13, Because these people approach me with empty words, and the honor they bestow on me is mere lip-service; while in fact they have distances their hearts from me, and their fear of me is just a mitzvah (instructions) of human origin. The heart of worship then, is of course our own heart! Yet, not just our heart but our whole being as Psalm 63:2 (1 in some versions) shows us in saying, O God, you are my God; I will seek you eagerly. My heart thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a land parched and exhausted, where no water can be found.
This already throws out a very large part of the basis to the RPW. How can our entirety be about worshipping Elohim if it is limited to the corporate worship? That is simply not a possibility. Worship's definition, and limitations as we will see, are not then confined to where we are or who we are with, but simple to all of time and place as what pleases God is not limited to time nor place. Hebrews 13:15 tells us, Through him, therefore, let us offer God a sacrifice of praise continually. For this is a natural product of lips that acknowledge his name. Acts 2:46 and 47 show us that the early church held to this reality when we take a look at how they worshipped. Continuing faithfully and with singleness of purpose to meet in the Temple courts daily, and breaking bread in their several homes, they shared in their food in joy and simplicity of heart, praising God and having the respect of all the people. And day after day the Lord kept adding to them those who were being saved.
What of other examples? Scripture is full of them. Acts 16:25 states, Around midnight, Sha'ul and Sila were praying and singing hymns to God, while the other prisoners listened attentively. Now, I do want to specify something. While this verse states 'hymns' that does not mean those nice books of songs we've all seen. Our 'hymns' certainly aren't the same one sung by the Apostles! There is no limit to the songs we can sing at all! as shown above scripture also states 'spiritual songs', leaving it open to us to make new songs to worship just as it was open to the Psalmist and to David for two examples. One of David's songs of praise can be found in 2 Samuel 22. David even showed us that dancing for God is perfectly acceptable in 2 Samuel 6! The Psalms are full of examples of we can praise both with song and otherwise. Psalm 68:5 (4 in some versions) says, Sing to God, sing praises to his name; extol him who rides on the clouds by his name, Yah; and be glad in his presence. Or 105:1-5, Give thanks to Adonai! Call on his name! Make his deeds known among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him, talk about all his wonders. Glory to his holy name; let those seeking Adonai have joyful hearts. Seek Adonai and his strength; always seek his presence. Remember the wonders he has done, his signs and his spoken rulings. These passages show us a few more examples, seeking to be near to Elohim, feeling happiness with Him, talking about him to others to share his message and rejoice in his good news, remember his wonders and signs and spoken rulings. This leads us into the next large part of worship, Obedience. 1 Samuel 15:22 shows us this by showing us an interesting contrast. That we can be in obedience without fully being so if our heart is amiss. It says, Does Adonai take as much pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying what Adonai says? Surely obeying is better than sacrifice, and heeding orders than the fat of rams. This whole passage is then seen as quite interesting because those very same sacrifices are also commanded of the levitical order in the Temple, so we can see then that the issue is not the action of obedience but more importantly the heart as well as the action. Y'shua himself made this very clear in Matthew 23 as he speaks to the Torah teachers and Pharisees who where obeying the commands while simultaneously neglecting them. He begins in verses 2 to 7 saying, "The Torah-teachers and the P'rushim," he said, sit in the seat of Moshe. So whatever they tell you, take care to do it. But don't do what they do, because they talk but don't act! They tie heay loads onto people's shoulders but won't lift a finger to help carry them. Everything they do is a done to be seen by others; for they make their t'fillin broad and their tzitziyot long, they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synangogues, and they love being greeted deferentially in the marketplaces and being called 'Rabbi.' Y'shua continues in verse 23 to say, "Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P'rushim! You pay your tithes of mint, dill and cumin; but you have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah - justice, mercy, trust. These are the things you should have attended to - without neglecting the others!" To then sumarize, obedience to God's Torah, what is taught from the seat of Moshe, is a vital form of worship, but simply going through the motions or specific halachah (a certain way of obeying the laws) isn't enough without having the heart of the mitzvot (commandments). Ezekiel 36:27 shows us that to follow the Ruach HaKodesh we are following God's commandments, saying, I will put my Spirit inside you and cause you to live by my laws, respect my rulings and obey them. Remembering also, that in all we do as worship, while happy and thankful, to not neglect fear and reverence, Therefore, since we have recieved the unshakeable Kingdom, let us have grace, through which we may offer service that will please God, with reverence and fear.
Up until now I have essentially laid out what the Normative Principle of Worship teaches, now I'm going to show where they go off base as well. Scripture also shows us some limits of how Not to worship; beyond disobeying God's commands which comes as the local follow up to the scriptural concept that obedience is a form of worship. In Leviticus 10 we see a great example. When it comes to some ways we worship Elohim has shown us specific instructions of how to do it, such as the sacrificial system. In three simple verses, one to three, we see a very bold story. But Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon, each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before Adonai, something he had not ordered them to do. At this, fire came forth from the presence of Adonai and consumed them, so that they died in the presence of Adonai. Now, we can then see that there are very serious lines to not cross in how we worship God, even if we have the best of intentions. After all, These two men wishes to give something extra to Elohim yet they where killed for doing so in a manner that they were not to do! We can know with confidence, thanks to applying scripture with scripture, however, that 'something he had not commanded' is not to be a blanket statement to all worship in a corporate setting (Which is as it is applied since these two where killed in a corporate setting). We can see this as even in the corporate setting during Y'shua's time things where done for Elohim which He had not explicitly laid out, such as the celebration of Hanukkah happening at the Temple in John 10 which Y'shua had no issue with and took part in, thus endorsing, or how he performed the Seder at the last super which tradition added to the Passover. We also know that to do things which cross God's boundaries is still an issue outside of corporate worship, such as the example we see of the Isrealite people at the base of Mount Sinai with the golden calf in Exodus 32. Specificially in verse 4 we can see an interesting note stated, Isra'el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt! They were worshipping the calf in an effort to tangibly worship Elohim! So even doing so in the name of Elohim does not justify the breaking of the command to not worship idols.
Additionally there is one more method in which we can not justify to worshipping our God with, that is that we are told not to worship God with any method designed to worship another deity. This means, point blank, that we can not 'redeem' days like Easter, Christmas and the like in an attempt to then use them to worship God. Methods such as using the Yule tree, wreaths, and decorating of eggs, among others, are all examples of such methods. This is an area that a vast majority of congregations which claim NPW simply fall short, and why the claim that NPW is defined by what scripture forbids is simply not accurate to what is practiced by those who hold to it. One place scripture lays out this regulation on worship is in Deuteronomy 12:29-31 which says, When Adonai your God has cut off ahead of you the nations you are entering in order to dispossess, and when you have dispossessed them and are living in their land; be careful, after they have been destroyed ahead of you, not to be trapped into following them; so that your inquire after their gods and ask 'How do these nations serve their gods? I want to do the same.' You must not do this to Adonai your God! For they have done to their gods all the abominations that Adonai hates! They even burn up their sons and daughters in the fire for their gods! This also, by logical association, would show that things such shaking, collapsing, screaming etc which all come from the Kundalini branch of Hinduism certainly are not manifestations of the Ruach, but they are manifestations of a whole other spirit! After all, if Elohim will not be worshipped as the pagans worshipped their gods, why would he then manifest as the pagan dieties manifest? It simply isn't consistent with His nature, which he has laid out in His Word for us to understand.
Thus, when we are worshipping Elohim, when we are going about our day to lives with his Glory as the foundation for our every action, when we have our focus on following Him, we must then see that it is obedience to him that is first and foremost, in big and little, in heart as well as in action, in mind and with all our being. That this worship goes beyond what happens in a corporate setting, yet that it is indeed limited by what God has ordained, such as how to do certain ceremonies, who is to do certain ceremonies, and what we simply are not to do, no matter how we try to say it is now 'for Elohim'. We can certainly say that some forms of worship we don't like to see in certain settings, such as a concert style in a church, but that doesn't make the concert style of loud music any less worship to God than quiet hymns written from the 1800's. We can agree that different types of worship are more appropriate for different settings, even different groups of people. Yet in all we do, whereever we are, worship should be our goal.
In closing today then, I leave you with Romans 12:1-2, I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God's mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical "Temple worship" for you. In other words, do not let yourselves, be conformed to the standards of the 'olam hazeh (present age). Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed.
